(MITCHELL) - Spring Mill and 20 other Indiana state parks will close temporarily twice this month for two rounds of controlled deer hunts.

It's time to thin out the deer herds in the parks. But too few hunters have hampered Spring Mill's deer reduction, that is why the park is going to hold another drawing the day of the hunt to replace those hunters that were drawn for the original hunt but for some reason did not show up.

Jon Winne, Assistant Property Manager at Spring Mill says currently 48 hunters have filled the spots at Spring Mill and 12 hunters will hunt Cave River Valley, another property owned by the park near Campbellsburg.

For example, if 40 of the 48 hunters show up at Spring Mill, that leaves 8 empty spots. So park officials will allow other hunters to fill those 8 spots.

Hunters must have a photo ID and a valid hunters license and be at the park at 8:30 a.m. on the day of the hunts. Names will be taken and then drawn to fill the vacant spots.

Winne says they will not replace hunters at the Cave River Valley property, just at Spring Mill. Hunters who want to participate in the standby draw just need to notify officials at the gate they are there for the standby draw and then report to the park office.

The hunts are scheduled for Nov. 14th and 15th and Nov. 28th and 29th.